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• Veterinary researchers at the University of Helsinki have been testing whether dogs can sniff out COVID-19, and Anna Hielm-Bjorkman has the good news: They can.
With almost 100% accuracy.
"A dog could easily save so, so, so many lives," she told DW.
A pilot program at the Helsinki Airport is having travelers wipe their wrists or neck with a cloth, which the trained dogs then sniff. They can identify the virus up to five days before any symptoms appear.
People who test positive at the voluntary canine site are directed to the airport's medical unit for confirmation. Hielm-Bjorkman said travelers have been eager to participate, waiting up to an hour in line. [DW, 10/21/2020]
• On the Italian island of Sardinia, farmer Cristian Mallocci welcomed a litter of five dogs on Oct. 9, Fox News reported. Among them was a special pup -- one with green fur, which Mallocci immediately named Pistachio.
The other four dogs had white fur, like their mom. Green puppies are rare, but not unheard-of; scientists think it happens when the puppy makes contact with a green pigment in the womb.
Pistachio's color has faded since his birth, but he'll keep his name, and Mallocci will keep him to help look after sheep on the farm. [Fox News, 10/23/2020]